Are You a Candidate For SigShield™?

Just like a 500-horsepower sports car, SigShield™ certainly isn’t right for everyone. If you’re sitting in stop-and-go traffic (a nod to our friends in the Bay Area!), the only thing you’re going to be able to do with your 500-HP motor is to listen to it purr. No, not everyone in the Bay Area drives a Tesla, yet!

Where and How Your Shield is Made Might Matter

For those who don’t know, Modus Advanced, Inc. manufactures and distributes from our 30,000 square foot facility in Livermore, California. The business operates under an AS9100 Rev D quality system and is also ITAR certified.

Why do AS9100 and ITAR matter? Let’s get it out there! For most customers; they’re not going to matter at all. There’s a large segment of the customer population who prioritizes price over everything else and doesn’t need products manufactured in a data secured environment. There’s nothing wrong with that! We won’t get into it in this blog, but the price does matter in most situations.

If the price is the main factor driving your sourcing decision and having your parts manufacturing in an AS9100 Rev D and ITAR factory isn’t a priority, a multi-source supply chain might be a good bet. Our team is more than happy to work with your preferred vendors if the project doesn’t necessarily fit the SigShield™ profile.

A few reasons a customer might prefer an AS9100 and ITAR supplier:

You need your supplier to get it right the first time. Okay, I’m smiling as a write this one!

An AS9102 FAIR is required with the first articles.

You want to know a third party has audited the quality system used by your supplier.

You care that your supplier is set up to make aerospace quality parts.

Does the Gasket Material Matter?

I don’t know. Maybe? Probably? Our team can tell you from experience; not all materials are created equal. We’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of different FIP materials over the years. I’ve received unsolicited feedback from our dispensing team regarding their preference for materials and the suppliers of those materials.

I will spare you the colorful and descriptive words I’ve heard in the past. Suffice it to say, my team is passionate about getting it right the first time for our customers and it bothers them when materials or suppliers affect their ability to perform.

Where does that leave us? As you may have heard, Modus Advanced, Inc. is Nolato’s North American Production Partner. Yes, we penned a formal agreement with Nolato Silikonteknik in early 2019, but what’s interesting is we would have picked Nolato’s materials even if we didn’t have a close relationship with them. They make it easy for us to serve our customers!

Nolato has a global footprint (allows for prototypes in the USA / transition to other sites if needed)

So why do we exclusively specify Nolato Trishield form-in-place gaskets to be used in the SigShield™ product realization process? We know the material works well, but more importantly, Nolato has proven they are genuinely dedicated to our shared customers' success. When one day matters to our customers, we will without question chose to dispense Nolato Trishield form-in-place materials on our machined RF shields.

The Ever-Present Project Deadline - We Can Help

SigShield™ is a product realization process combining our methodology, materials, and benefits. Let’s talk about those benefits. No, we’re not going to attach $20 bills to every RF shield we ship, although that would be a nice benefit! Maybe we should try that sometime…. the benefits we’re talking about are machined RF shields in half the typical lead time, better project outcomes and the convenience of a one-stop shop.

Let’s bullet point this:

Half the typical lead time for Modus usually means a 2 to 3 week turnaround on prototype quantities of a machined RF shield with a Trishield form in place gasket. We will get into how we’re able to do this in another blog!

Better project outcomes mean we get it right the first time because we control the manufacturing process from start to finish.

One-stop-shop has been beaten to death, but the benefits still ring true. Machining and form in place gaskets under a single roof, all supported by an AS9100 quality system and the peace of mind ITAR compliance brings to data security.

Stick a Fork in It!

So, who exactly was the SigShield™ product realization process designed for? Well, I’m not sure I can make a complete list, so let’s try a couple of descriptive situations. Assume we’re talking about a person who’s responsible for designing and/or sourcing a machined RF shield with an FIP gasket.